Fun Activities for Practicing Math Skills

Happy Summer!  While school is out, it's always hard to keep children from forgetting what they have learned over the past school year.  This article gives some simple activities for practicing math skills wherever you are this summer.  There is also a link to a 43-page booklet from the U.S. Department of Education on more activities to promote math skills for preschoolers up to 5th graders.  So, while you are enjoying road trips, lazy days at the pool or carpools back and forth to various summer camps throw in some fun and easy math practice!  Just click the link below:

http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/homework-study-skills/fun-activities-elementary-math-skills?utm_source=newsletter_june_25_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_content=dearreadertext&utm_campaign=ldnews

Dysgraphia Questions and Accomodations--Part Two

Here is the second part of the article that I posted earlier this month about Dysgraphia.  Be sure to also click on the link for dyslexia resources found under the first answer about accommodations.  This article has a wealth of information about how to work with children who have dysgraphia.  Good summer reading as we prepare for next year's 504 and IEP meetings!

http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/dysgraphia-accommdations-faq-questions-answered?utm_source=standalone_june_1_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=weekendblog

How Georgia Ranks in Providing Services for People with Disabilities

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) releases The Case for Inclusion each year, tracking the progress of community living standards for Americans living with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD). The report examines data and outcomes for all 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC), ranking each on a set of key indicators, including how people with disabilities live and participate in their communities, if they are satisfied with their lives, and how easily the services and supports they need are accessed. By taking these factors into account, UCP is able to develop a comprehensive analysis of each state's progress or failures in providing critical services to individuals living with disabilities.

The findings for 2013 reveal that: 1) All states have room for some improvement, but some have consistently remained at the bottom of the rankings; 2) Despite economic strains, many states have made real improvements in the quality of services being provided; 3) There is still work to be done in ensuring that people with ID/DD can enjoy the same freedoms and quality of life as all Americans. 

I am pleased that Georgia is not in the bottom ten but we remain in the bottom 20!  In many areas, our progress is flat and services to get and keep people employed in the community are actually declining.  You can see the rankings and other data here:

http://www.ucp.org/the-case-for-inclusion/2013/state_scorecards.html

Inspiration from Jay Leno

As April is on its way out the door, I realize that I have not posted once this month.  Already the end of the school year is upon us. Where does the time go?

I hope you will find inspiration as I did in reading this article by Jay Leno where he talks about his struggles with dyslexia.  It's helpful to be reminded that we must not only strengthen our child's weaknesses but we must daily seek to find and encourage their many gifts.  A different brain is not an abnormal brain, but one that works in mysterious and marvelous ways.  Happy reading and see you in May!

http://dyslexia.yale.edu/leno.html

Is Teaching Spelling Important?

This is a very interesting article about whether or not we should be concerned about children learning to spell in school.  I myself have said several times that with our current technology it seems not to be as important as it used to be.  However, as the author of the article nicely illustrates, spell check is not that accurate AND a child with poor spelling will fall behind in other skills such as written expression which affects learning in all subjects.

http://www.specialeducationadvisor.com/to-spell-or-not-to-spell-is-it-important/

Help Stop the Use of the R-Word

Spread the Word to End the Word has marked March 6, 2013 as their annual day of awareness of the hurtful use of the R-word.

Spread the Word to End the Word is an ongoing effort by Special Olympics, Best Buddies International, and supporters who set out to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed).”
They are encouraging people to pledge to stop using the R-word.
To read a compelling article about why go here:
www.huffingtonpost.com/meghan-morris/rosas-law_b_2734922.html

Then, take a moment to go to the Spread the Word webpage (http://www.r-word.org/Default.aspx) and make your pledge to help stop the use of the R-word.

We All Have Gifts--But No One is Gifted in Every Area

I came across this parable on Susan Barton's website Bright Solutions for Dyslexia (http://www.dys-add.com/index.html).  If you are a parent, you need to read this.  It applies for all of our children whether they have identified special needs or not.  In the current culture, it seems most parents expect their children to be good at everything:  school, sports, social activities, music, etc.  But in reality, none of us are good at everything.  We all have gifts and weaknesses.  So, why as a parent do I feel like I am depriving my children when I only sign them up for one activity at a time and many other parents have their children enrolled in 4 or 5?  We need to learn to appreciate our children for who they are and help them to identify and nuture their gifts, while recognizing that no one is perfect.  The world is much more interesting due to the fact that we all bring different gifts to the table.  We don't have to run around trying to make our children into all-around stand outs.  They stand out just because of who they are.

“Parable: The Animal Story” by G. H. Reavis

Once upon a time, the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of the "new world," so they organized a school. They adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make the school easier to administer, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming, better in fact than his instructor, and made passing grades in flying. But he was very poor in running. Since he was so slow in running, he had to stay after school. He also had to drop swimming to have time to practice running. This was kept up until his web feet were badly worn, which made him only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school, so nobody worried about that—except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running, but had a nervous breakdown because of so much make-up work in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class, where his teacher made his start from the ground up, instead of from the tree top down.

The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but he insisted on using his own way to get there.

At the end of the year, an abnormal eel who could swim exceedingly well, and also run, climb, and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.

How many of us, like the duck who is excellent in swimming and good in flying, spend a lifetime running—only to wear out our feet and in doing so, neglect our true gifts?